Tag: Enemies to Lovers

Being hired by Barrett London should have been a dream. Nice job in the city, amazing boss…but then I met Luke. Cocky. Self-assured. Sexy. And the most frustrating man I’ve ever laid eyes on.

When we’re forced to work together, sparks fly. But is the attraction enough to risk losing everything? Or should this truce be in name only?

Luke

The moment Olivia walked through the door, I wanted her. That is, until she opened her mouth and ruined it with her ‘I can do it better’ attitude.

When we’re coerced into working together, I start to see Olivia in a different light. She’s smart, vibrant, and gorgeous. Is that enough to let go of the past or will my demons turn our truce into a lie?

Queen_of_the_books_18 – “A hot and steamy office Romance that will leave you swooning.”

Aussie Book Nook – “I enjoyed everything about this book! The writing, the story, the characters!

Enemies to Lovers is one of my favourites and this book is done really well.”

Goodreads Review – “I think this is my top read of 2019 so far. Everyone should add this to their TBR <3”

I stared at myself in the mirror over the sink. My cheeks were flushed, and I had a wild look in my eyes. Calm down. Splashing cold water on my face, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, then used a paper towel to pat my face dry. Okay. I could do this. Time to go back out there and act normal.

Squaring my shoulders, I swung the door open and let out a squeak of fright. Luke stood leaning against the stone wall of the corridor, his arms folded, staring straight at me.

“Davenport? What are you doing lurking outside the toilets? Shouldn’t you be with your date?” I snarled the word “date,” my stupid jealousy rearing its ugly head.

“Jealous?” he drawled, raising an eyebrow.

“Why on earth would I be jealous? I don’t like you,” I snapped, flustered. Why is he here?

He pushed away from the wall, taking a step closer to me. I remained rooted to the spot, unable to move. He took another step, then another, until he was standing so close that I could feel his body heat. I closed my eyes, trying to block him out before I said, or even worse, did something I’d regret.

“Guess what?” His voice was soft, menacing.

“W-what?”

I felt his hot breath in my ear and a shiver ran down my spine.

“I don’t like you, either.”

“Good,” I whispered, trying to appear unaffected by his proximity, my unsteady voice betraying me. I concentrated on breathing in and out, willing my heart rate to slow. Despite my eyes being squeezed shut, I was hyperaware of the scant few centimetres of space that separated us; if I moved even slightly my breasts would be brushing his chest. My traitorous nipples hardened in response to that thought. Fuck. I cracked one eye open just in time to see Luke glance down. Too afraid to meet his eyes I dropped my gaze, hearing him swallow hard. His fists clenched tightly, and he muttered under his breath, his words too quiet for me to catch. Abruptly, he moved away from me, turning on his heel and striding away without a backward glance.

She’s been expecting this ever since their latest showdown. She had good reason.

Hottest guy she’s ever seen.

Former fling.

Dumped her in front of her friends.

At her own party.

So no, she’s not about to forgive and forget just because he sits next to her in class.

He thinks all he has to do is turn on those baby blues, and she’ll melt right back into his arms. Please. She’d be crazy to let this cocky player affect her again. (Tell that to her body.)

Charisma Rossi.

Nerd girl with a dash of bad.

The one who got under his skin.

The one he cut loose.

Blaze knows she’s the riskiest prospect at Waylon University, but none of the interchangeable girls he hooks up with have ever made him feel the way she did. There’s absolutely no way he can have the girl and the game.

So why can’t he stop trying to win her back?

Can this wide receiver score the girl or will he make the biggest fumble of his life?

I’m on my tiptoes when the question comes, trying to reach a book on the top shelf in the bookstore at the student center.

My heart does a nosedive off a cliff as that familiar gruff voice washes over me, his accent a smooth drawl that’s reminiscent of hot summer nights and slow kisses—kisses we never had…well, except for that one time freshman year.

I ease back on my feet and whip around, internally wishing I’d worn something more I hate you and don’t you wish you still had me, but sadly, I’m not in my kickass shoes and itchy dress. Today it’s flat-soled red Converse, black joggers, and a Yankees sweatshirt. I blow at a piece of hair in my face. Shit.

Of course, he looks magnificent in a tight long-sleeved black shirt that clings to his broad chest and tapered jeans molded to those leg muscles. His face is unshaven, the darkness on his jawline adding a broody look.

Curse him and his hotness.

I stare at him a little too long, until I snap out of it.

“I don’t need help,” My voice is strangled as I move to brush past him—forget the textbooks—but he reaches out and takes my elbow.

“Charisma—”

His fingers are a hot brand on my skin—it’s the first time we’ve touched in three months—and I pull away. A tremble starts in my legs. How dare he? It was one thing to see him in a social setting and pretend I was fine, but when we’re face to face without people watching… “Don’t put your hands on me. I’m not your hookup anymore, football player.”

His face reddens, and he drops his arms. “I didn’t mean—” he stops, not finishing as he studies my face.

I wonder what he sees. You know what he sees, Charisma—someone who wasn’t up to his usual standards.

Everything I didn’t say last night rushes out. “Didn’t mean to what? Dump me in the middle of my own sorority’s party in front of all my friends and half of campus? And you know, that’s totally fine. We both knew I wasn’t enough to keep your attention.”

His jaw clenches and he frowns, his brow furrowing. “I didn’t plan for things to happen that way.”

“How did you want to break up with me? Over candlelight? A text would have worked just fine,” I bite out.

The silence builds between us, and he watches me intently, as if trying to figure me out. He starts at my hair and works his way down to my feet, then comes back to my face. Just when I think I might combust from the intensity of his eyes, he looks away.

“What?” I cock my hip. “You look like you want to say something.”

He taps his hand against his leg. Ice-blue eyes, ones I used to stare into and get butterflies from, glitter down at me. “You just can’t handle that I ended things, sweetheart.”

“Not your sweetheart.”

“Never were.”

Shit…shit…my heart feels like an anvil just landed on it, heavy and hard, and I can’t breathe for a second at his words, part of me pissed, the other part devastated. I wanted to be his sweetheart, I did, but he…

You’re not my type.

“Thanks for the reminder,” I say quietly, my anger folding away piece by piece and slipping into that horrible self-pity I despise.

He closes his eyes and scrubs his face with those talented hands, strong and big and capable, skillful with a football.

He steps in front of me, much like he did last night, and I tilt my head back to take him in. At my height of five feet, three inches, it’s hard to glare at a guy who towers over you and not look ridiculous, but I manage—until his eyes flicker with lingering emotion.

I dart my eyes around the store, searching for a way out, but I’m stuck between him and a bookshelf. “You’re blocking my path.” I focus on his legs. No sexiness there—well, except for the tight muscles under that denim.

“This is what I know,” he says in a low voice, ignoring my statement. “You told me we were just messing around. You set all the rules. Isn’t that how you operate? So why does me ending things with you even matter?”

“You never asked for more. You could have.” The revealing words fall around us, tinged with hurt, and I want to pull them back.

The silence between us crackles, yet I’m aware of other people around us. There are a few girls on another aisle, and I glance over as one of them pulls out her phone. No doubt she’s taking a picture of him. Part of me retreats, anxious she’ll get me in that photo—a girl who clearly doesn’t belong. He doesn’t notice. Everyone knows who he is, and they’re probably wondering why he’s talking to me.

“No, I didn’t,” he finally says, the words taut as if pulled from him unwillingly. He taps his leg, his tell that he’s anxious or angry. We weren’t together long, but every moment we spent together, I studied him like a wine connoisseur given a glass of rare cabernet. I know what makes him laugh, usually random things that make no sense. I know that groan he makes deep in this throat when he slides inside me, like he’s home. I know the feel of his hand when he cups my face and stares at me, a hesitant expression on his face—

“You can’t even look at me anymore. I wonder why,” he says, his voice a challenge.

Steeling myself, I face those baby blues. “You know why. I wish we’d never met up last fall. I wish you’d never flirted with me. I wish I’d never fucked you that first time in the library—”

“Same page. Same fucking page, Charisma.” And then he’s walking away, broad shoulders swaying as he stalks down the aisle…

Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.

She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

➜ Sign up for phone alert for book releases (only sent three times a year) Text ROMANCE to 21000

She’s been expecting this ever since their latest showdown. She had good reason.

Hottest guy she’s ever seen.

Former fling.

Dumped her in front of her friends.

At her own party.

So no, she’s not about to forgive and forget just because he sits next to her in class.

He thinks all he has to do is turn on those baby blues, and she’ll melt right back into his arms. Please. She’d be crazy to let this cocky player affect her again. (Tell that to her body.)

Charisma Rossi.

Nerd girl with a dash of bad.

The one who got under his skin.

The one he cut loose.

Blaze knows she’s the riskiest prospect at Waylon University, but none of the interchangeable girls he hooks up with have ever made him feel the way she did. There’s absolutely no way he can have the girl and the game.

So why can’t he stop trying to win her back?

Can this wide receiver score the girl or will he make the biggest fumble of his life?

Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.

She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

➜ Sign up for phone alert for book releases (only sent three times a year) Text ROMANCE to 21000

SC Daiko, aka Siobhan, is an award-winning British author of fast-paced international bestselling contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Siobhan loves to swim in the sea, travel around Europe, sample different food and enjoy local wine. She has worked in the City of London and taught languages in a Welsh high school before moving to Italy, where she now lives with her husband and two cats. Nothing makes her happier than connecting with readers and fellow authors.

Hot headed, no social skills and she knew more swear words than a sailor. I was beginning to think I had a thing for my boss.

It didn’t matter that she barely knew the name of her employees or that she worked more hours than there were in a day running her restaurants, as soon as I knew she liked to dance, I wanted a taste of more than just her summer menu.

But what you want isn’t always what you get, and the courses fate had lined up weren’t guaranteed to be tasty.

The small town of Severton doesn’t have many secrets. One of the few is exactly why Scott Maynard, bar owner and search and rescue hero, refuses to speak, acknowledge or even breathe the same air as Keren Leigh.

Keren has been Severton’s dentist for far too long and now she’s ready to move to the city, escaping the war with Scott and broadening her dating circle in the hope of a future that doesn’t just consist of evenings at home alone with a book, ancient pyjamas and a glass of wine.

All it takes is a one-night ceasefire for all of her plans and their decade-long feud to be stirred up. But they’re not the only ones to be shaken: Severton has acquired its own arsonist and other secrets are being exposed, leaving a completely different battle to be fought.

Warning: contains alpacas, retired ladies who make their own gin and have an eye for younger gentlemen plus an alternate use for a bath.